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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Draped Bust dollar is a United States dollar coin minted from 1795 to 1803, and again throughout the nineteenth century with the date of 1804. The design succeeded the Flowing Hair dollar, which began mintage in 1794 and was the first silver dollar struck by the United States Mint. Originally, the Draped Bust dollar was struck in an illegal alloy of .900 silver. The designer is unknown, though the distinction is usually credited to artist Gilbert Stuart. The model is also unknown, though Ann Willing Bingham has been suggested.
United States | |
Value | 1.00 U.S. dollars |
---|---|
Mass | 26.96 g |
Diameter | 39-40 mm |
Edge | Lettered |
Composition | 90.0% Ag 10.0% Cu |
Years of minting | 1795-1804 |
Obverse | |
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Design | Bust of Liberty |
Design date | 1795 |
Reverse | |
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Design | A Bald Eagle in heraldic form |
Design date | 1798 |
In October 1795, newly appointed Mint Director Elias Boudinot ordered that the legal fineness of .892 silver be used for the silver dollar. Due largely to a decrease in the amount silver deposited at the Philadelphia Mint, coinage of silver dollars declined throughout the end of the eighteenth century. In 1804, coinage of silver dollars was halted, and officially ended in 1806 by order of Secretary of State James Madison.
In 1834, silver dollar production was temporarily started to supply a diplomatic mission to Asia with a special set of proof American coins. Officials mistakenly believed that dollars had last been minted with the date 1804, causing them to use that date rather than the date in which the coins were actually struck. A limited number of 1804 dollars were struck by the Mint in later years, and they remain rare and valuable.